NHOP School of Prayer – Session 3: Fresh Water vs. Salt

NHOP 2026 | NHOP School of Prayer | Session 3: Fresh Water vs. Salt | Chris Byberg & Brad Fidler

I. Fresh Water (Blessing) or Salt Water (Cursing)

With [our tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. (Jas. 3:9-12)

A. Scripture puts a lot of weight on our tongues and the words we choose.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue… (Prov. 18:21a)

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give an account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. (Mt. 11:34b-37)

Let no corrupting [rotten, putrid; worthless; harmful; of a bad quality] talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (Eph. 4:29)

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (1 Tim. 4:12)

But avoid irreverent [worldly, godless, profane] babble [empty chatter], for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. (2 Tim. 2:16-17a)

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. (Tit. 3:1-2)

II. Our Prayers and Our Speech

A. Lesson: 2021 – watching how we speak about our leaders.

B. It's not enough to just pray for blessing. What we say in our conversations needs to match the tone of our prayers.

With it [our tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. (Jas. 3:9-10)

Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil. (Mt. 5:37)

1. If our conversational speech doesn't match our prayer speech, doesn't that make us somewhat "double minded"? Double-mindedness = ineffective prayer.

C. Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies and those who persecute us. Part of the reason is, as we bless them, our heart starts to change towards them.

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. (Mt. 5:43-45a)

1. When we only curse or complain about leaders (or anyone), our heart stays locked in an adversarial "us vs. them" mentality; we see them as our enemy. But our wrestle is not against flesh & blood.

2. Remember, the underlying reason why we're commanded to pray for our leaders is that He "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4; cf. 2 Pet. 3:9)

3. Lesson: SoS 4:9 – how God sees leaders that we may not like.